II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 486 To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish the Rural Innovation and Partnership Administration and to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Rural Future Partnership Fund to invest in the rural areas of the United States to achieve their preferred future while maximizing their contribution to the well-being of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish the Rural Innovation and Part- nership Administration and to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Rural Future Partnership Fund to invest in the rural areas of the United States to achieve their preferred future while maximizing their contribution to the well-being of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 486 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rebuild Rural America 2 Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 4 The purposes of this Act are— 5 (1) to create the scale and capacity that enables 6 rural areas to achieve their preferred future while 7 maximizing their contribution to the well-being of 8 the United States; 9 (2) to recognize the significant contributions of 10 rural areas of the United States to the success of 11 the United States, including the leading role that 12 the rural areas play in addressing the critical threat 13 of climate change and building a resilient United 14 States; 15 (3) to make a national commitment to the rural 16 communities and regions of the United States to en- 17 sure that the rural United States benefits from and 18 contributes to the prosperity of the United States; 19 (4) to establish a partnership with rural areas 20 of the United States that provides flexible, long- 21 term, and annual Federal investment for comprehen- 22 sive, collaborative, and locally driven community and 23 economic development that improves quality of life 24 and economic competitiveness; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 486 IS (5) to strengthen rural population centers 1 through collaboration with neighboring rural areas 2 that ensures economic integration and regional de- 3 velopment; 4 (6) to strengthen connections between rural and 5 urban areas of the United States for mutual success 6 and for the benefit of the economy of the United 7 States and the quality of life of the people of the 8 United States; 9 (7) to support asset-based development, maxi- 10 mizing the cost-effectiveness of existing infrastruc- 11 ture; 12 (8) to ensure economic opportunities that create 13 pathways to high-quality, family-sustaining jobs for 14 all individuals in rural areas of the United States, 15 including efforts to address population loss, to pro- 16 mote the use of cooperatives and other forms of pub- 17 lic and employee ownership, and to expand and im- 18 prove access to training, infrastructure, and invest- 19 ment to adapt to technological change, such as auto- 20 mation, for success in the digital economy; 21 (9) to provide for the evolution and expansion 22 of the role of the Department of Agriculture in en- 23 suring that rural communities have a dedicated 24 agency and a new delivery system for Federal assist- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 486 IS ance for disaster recovery and proactive mitigation 1 and resiliency efforts; 2 (10) to rebuild and modernize infrastructure 3 and expand investment to support local and regional 4 food systems, sustainable agriculture production, 5 and value added agricultural industries; 6 (11) to support infill development, preserve un- 7 developed land, and remediate brownfields and other 8 contaminated properties for re-use; and 9 (12) to support public health and improve qual- 10 ity of life in rural communities by delivering— 11 (A) universal access to clean air and water; 12 (B) healthy foods available through local 13 and regional food systems; 14 (C) quality, affordable, and accessible 15 health care services in the rural communities, 16 including access to primary and emergency 17 medical services, mental health care, and treat- 18 ment for substance abuse; 19 (D) affordable and reliable clean energy 20 systems; and 21 (E) quality, affordable, and energy-effi- 22 cient housing choices in the rural communities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 486 IS SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF RURAL INNOVATION AND 1 PARTNERSHIP ADMINISTRATION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Department of 3 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6941 4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 237. RURAL INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIP ADMIN- 6 ISTRATION. 7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab- 8 lish in the Department a Rural Innovation and Partner- 9 ship Administration (referred to in this section as the ‘Ad- 10 ministration’). 11 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATOR.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 13 be headed by an Administrator of Rural Innovation 14 and Partnerships (referred to in this section as the 15 ‘Administrator’), who shall be appointed by the Sec- 16 retary. 17 ‘‘(2) REPORTING TO UNDER SECRETARY.—The 18 Administrator shall report to the Under Secretary 19 for Rural Development. 20 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out 21 through the Administration the functions of the Rural Fu- 22 ture Partnership Fund established under subtitle I of the 23 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. 24 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE OFFICES.—In car- 25 rying out the functions of the Administration, the Sec- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 486 IS retary shall ensure that each State office of the rural de- 1 velopment mission area is staffed with not less than 3 new 2 employees to implement the Rural Future Partnership 3 Fund established under subtitle I of the Consolidated 4 Farm and Rural Development Act, including providing— 5 ‘‘(1) technical assistance; 6 ‘‘(2) support for capacity building; 7 ‘‘(3) financial controls; and 8 ‘‘(4) performance oversight. 9 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH COUNCIL ON RURAL COM- 10 MUNITY INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.— 11 In carrying out the functions of the Administration, the 12 Administrator shall coordinate with the Council on Rural 13 Community Innovation and Economic Development estab- 14 lished by section 6306 of the Agriculture Improvement Act 15 of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2204b–3).’’. 16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 17 (1) Section 296(b) of the Department of Agri- 18 culture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 19 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(11) The authority of the Secretary to estab- 22 lish and maintain in the Department the Rural In- 23 novation and Partnership Administration under sec- 24 tion 237.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 486 IS (2) Section 6306(f) of the Agriculture Improve- 1 ment Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2204b–3(f)) is amend- 2 ed— 3 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 4 the end; 5 (B) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the 6 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 7 (C) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(6) give priority to coordinating with the Ad- 9 ministrator of Rural Innovation and Partnerships in 10 carrying out the Rural Future Partnership Fund es- 11 tablished under subtitle I of the Consolidated Farm 12 and Rural Development Act.’’. 13 SEC. 4. RURAL FUTURE PARTNERSHIP FUND. 14 The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 15 (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 16 the following: 17 ‘‘Subtitle I—Rural Future 18 Partnership Fund 19 ‘‘SEC. 385A. DEFINITIONS. 20 ‘‘In this subtitle: 21 ‘‘(1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means a 22 rural partnership council established under para- 23 graph (1)(A)(i), (2)(A)(i), or (3)(A)(i), as applicable, 24 of section 385C(a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 486 IS ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PRO- 1 VIDER.—The term ‘eligible technical assistance pro- 2 vider’ means an entity— 3 ‘‘(A) with a demonstrated national or re- 4 gional structure or capacity to deliver and sup- 5 port multiple rural planning activities across 6 the United States or within a region of the 7 United States; and 8 ‘‘(B) that is— 9 ‘‘(i) a federally recognized Indian 10 Tribe; 11 ‘‘(ii) an institution of higher edu- 12 cation; 13 ‘‘(iii) a nonprofit organization; or 14 ‘‘(iv) a private organization. 15 ‘‘(3) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Rural 16 Future Partnership Fund established under section 17 385B. 18 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘institution 20 of higher education’ has the meaning given the 21 term in section 101 of the Higher Education 22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)). 23 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘institution 24 of higher education’ includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 486 IS ‘‘(i) land-grant colleges and univer- 1 sities (as defined in section 1404 of the 2 National Agricultural Research, Extension, 3 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 4 3103)); and 5 ‘‘(ii) associated cooperative extension 6 services. 7 ‘‘(5) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means a rural 8 partnership plan established under section 385E(a). 9 ‘‘(6) RESERVATION.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘reservation’ 11 has the meaning given the term ‘Indian coun- 12 try’ in section 1151 of title 18, United States 13 Code. 14 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘reservation’ 15 includes land held by a Native group, a Re- 16 gional Corporation, or a Village Corporation (as 17 those terms are defined in section 3 of the Alas- 18 ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 19 1602)). 20 ‘‘(7) RURAL PARTNERSHIP BLOCK GRANT.— 21 The term ‘rural partnership block grant’ means a 22 rural partnership block grant awarded under this 23 subtitle. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 486 IS ‘‘(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 1 the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 2 Rural Innovation and Partnerships. 3 ‘‘(9) WORKFORCE HOUSING.—The term ‘work- 4 force housing’ means, with respect to housing for a 5 family, housing the cost of which does not exceed 30 6 percent of— 7 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), 120 8 percent of the median income in the area in 9 which the family lives, as determined by the 10 Secretary, with appropriate adjustments for the 11 size of the family; or 12 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that there 13 are unusually high or low family incomes in the 14 area in which the family lives, such other per- 15 centage, as the Secretary determines to be ap- 16 propriate, of the median income in the area in 17 which the family lives. 18 ‘‘SEC. 385B. ESTABLISHMENT. 19 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a program, to be 20 known as the ‘Rural Future Partnership Fund’, under 21 which the Secretary shall award rural partnership block 22 grants in accordance with this subtitle. 23 ‘‘SEC. 385C. ELIGIBILITY. 24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 486 IS ‘‘(1) MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re- 2 ceive a rural partnership block grant— 3 ‘‘(i) one or more units of local govern- 4 ment that govern a micropolitan statistical 5 area, as defined by the Director of the Of- 6 fice of Management and Budget, shall es- 7 tablish a rural partnership council in ac- 8 cordance with subsection (b); and 9 ‘‘(ii) that Council shall submit an ap- 10 plication to— 11 ‘‘(I) not later than 180 days 12 after the date of enactment of the Re- 13 build Rural America Act of 2021— 14 ‘‘(aa)(AA) the applicable 15 State; or 16 ‘‘(BB) the applicable States, 17 if the micropolitan statistical 18 area spans more than 1 State; 19 and 20 ‘‘(bb) the applicable State 21 offices of the rural development 22 mission area; or 23 ‘‘(II) after the date described in 24 subclause (I), the Secretary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 486 IS ‘‘(B) REGIONAL COLLABORATION.— 1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an 2 application under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), 3 the one or more States, in coordination 4 with the applicable State offices of the 5 rural development mission area, shall ad- 6 vise the applicant on the inclusion in the 7 Council, if practicable, of one or more con- 8 tiguous census tracts or counties that— 9 ‘‘(I) fall outside of a micropolitan 10 or metropolitan statistical area; and 11 ‘‘(II) demonstrate evidence of 12 economic, social, and cultural coopera- 13 tion that enhances the potential for 14 comprehensive, asset-based regional 15 development. 16 ‘‘(ii) DECISION.—After receipt of ad- 17 vice under clause (i), the applicant shall— 18 ‘‘(I) decide whether to include 19 one or more of the applicable contig- 20 uous census tracts or counties in the 21 Council; and 22 ‘‘(II) modify the application, as 23 appropriate. 24 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S486.IS S486 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 486 IS ‘‘(i) STATES.—The one or more 1 States that receive an application under 2 subparagraph (A)(ii)(I)(aa), in coordina- 3 tion with the applic [Text truncated for display. 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